moving
by 999999999
Summary: cronos is making new monsters and attacking the underworld. the titans get to say a few goodbyes to the ones they know and love. also why achie is afraid of water
1. moving in

It was night. Street lamps lit the street as cars roared down the road. Standing in the shadows of a building stood Cronos. His dark eyes were focused on the apartment on the opposite street. Moving his hand up to his mouth he spoke into a walkie talkie

"Okay" a person shut the curtains on the fourth floor "move in!"

Archie and Herry were carrying boxes up the stairs. In his large muscular arms Herry held four while Archie struggled with one.

"Did your grannie have to move to the top floor? Why couldn't it have been the bottom?"

"Cos Grannie loves her views of the city and you do get a nice one from up there. And besides, now that she's moved closer to the school and has an _electric _heater, I no longer have to chop fire wood!" the pair reached the top of the stairs and walked down the cream painted corridor "Oh, smell that. Grannie's making a roast!"

"mmmm. She sure can cook, I'll give her that"

Herry knocked his foot against the door "Gran it's us! We have the last of the boxes"

The little old lady opened the door "What took you so long? Your tea is getting cold! Well don't just stand there!"

Herry walked in first "Come on Archie, I'll show you your room. We'll put these in the store room"

"Ah, good" said Archie, very relieved "my back is killing me"

"Where is Herry and Archie?" asked Jay as he walked into the living room of the Dorm. Theresa, Atlanta and Neil were sitting down watching a monster movie and Odie was on the Laptop playing online Zelda.

"Gone to help Grannie move into her new apartment" answered Atlanta, not taking her eyes off the TV screen

"Okay…why did Archie go?"

"We drew straws who was to go with Herry and help. He lost" Theresa turned and smiled at her boyfriend

Odie was sitting at the desk, his eyes glued to the computer screen "Yes! Level 12! Uh Huh! Oh yeah!"

"You get any more excited and you'll wet yourself" said Neil watching him from the reflection in his mirror.

Jay sat down next to Theresa on the lounge _Neil actually made a good call._ He started watching the movie. Zombies burst through the door of a house and started attacking the people. The gas tap was leaking and there was a spark and the house went up in flames. Some of the zombies were destroyed and others came to finish them off. Almost immediately Theresa's head hurt. She leant forward and with her head in her hands

"Are you okay?" Atlanta paused the movie

"Theresa?" Jay put his hand on her back, trying to comfort her

"…Vision…." She chocked out

_Grannie closed the red curtains in her new apartment "We're trying to keep the heat in. don't any of you have a brain? Now tell me, how is my little Herry-pooh?"_

_Suddenly the window shattered and part of the wall fell away with it. In came two black griffens, twice as big as the white ones who had first picked them up. _

"_Archie! Get Grannie and run!"_

"_Herry! Look out!" Archie screamed as one of the griffens advanced on the descendent of Hercules. It charged at his and knocked him into the wall with full force. Archie drew out his whip_

"_Yah!" he yelled, putting a deep cut in the griifen's leg. The other black half eagle half lion came at him, and threw him next to Herry_

"_Grannie!" he cried as the griffen advanced on her_

Theresa sat up panting, her face was beaded with sweat

"What is it? What did you see?"

"Herry…Archie. They're in trouble, we have to get over there- Now!"

**Please read and review! If you have any ideas for the story- let me know! **


	2. attack

"Get away from my Grannie!" Herry yelled as he ran towards the Griffin. He grabbed its tail and started swinging it around, then let go and let the creature sail out the window

Archie was back on his feet. The second griffin reared up on his hind legs and swiped a claw at Archie. He stepped back and threw his whip up at it. It curled around its front leg and he pulled. Nothing happened; instead of cutting the beast as it should. A moment of surprise and horror was all that the beast needed to tug the weapon out of his hands and swipe at him again with the other claw. Archie turned to dodge but its talons caught his back; tearing the shirt and leaving three long deep cuts. Archie cried out in pain and with a kick from the griffin was thrown into the wall, where he fell unconscious and stayed down

"Archie!" Herry picked up one of the boxes he had lugged up the stairway and hurled it at the beast. The blow to the bum took its attention off Achilles descendent and turned towards Herry.

"Don't worry Herry; we've got your back!" Jay and the team came through the door

"What took you so long?" said Herry as Atlanta threw her bolas at the griffin, trying its two front claws together. Jay ran forward and stabbed the beast. It's tail came around and whipped him and he fell back with his sword in hand.

Meanwhile the other griffin had recovered, and flew straight back into the apartment

"Oh bugger" said Jay "Odie! How can we defeat them!"

"Working on it!" he yelled back

"Now I just finished cleaning up in here and what do you do? You spread brick and dust all over it!" said grannie as she came at the second griffin and started beating it with her walking stick "Back!"

"Graaannie!" Herry just managed to pick her up and move her before plaster and bricks fell from the ceiling

Atlanta aimed a kick to the griffin's back. The creature didn't even flinch, but turned around and leapt at her.

"Archie?" Theresa kneeled next to the titan "Wake up, come on" she took off his jacket and wrapped it around his back "Jay! We have to get him out of here!"

"Odie!" yelled Jay as he charged at the beast again "How do we defeat it!"

"Fire!" said Odie! "use fire!"

"But it takes the moisture out of your skin!" said Neil as one of the griffins tried to hit him with his tail "Uh huh, can't touch this"

Herry grabbed the griffin from behind again and threw it into the wall. More bricks and plaster fell from the ceiling _try to touch my grannie again, and I'll snap ya! _

Atlanta looked around the place for fire…_fire…fire…fire! _She pulled a lamp from the power socket, using her speed she grabbed the creature's tail and shoved it into the power point then ran to Theresa. With Atlanta's speed, all this happened in the blink of an eye. The creature reared up on its hind legs and let out a bellow of pain, stumbled out of the apartment pushing the other griffin along as it went.

"Is everyone okay?" said Jay

"Just peachy" Archie croaked

"You okay?" Atlanta helped him to his feet

"I'm fine!" said Grannie "but my little Herry's going to have a lot more chores to do in the next week. THAT BOX YOU THROUGH HAD ALL MY GOOD CHINA!"

**please read and review! if you have any ideas for the next chapter put it in your review! R&R R&R R&R R&R R&R **


	3. skating on thin ice

"How did Cronos know where we were?" asked Archie with his back bandaged up and sliding comfortably into a chair back at the Dormitory

"Spies?" suggested Theresa

"Nup" said Odie "I've already figured that one out. We need to change our PMR signals. I'm working on a new model. It should be ready by the morning"

"Okay, in the meantime, I want everyone to get some sleep" Said Jay "It's been a long night. Herry, is Grannie settled in?"

"Yeah, she's sleeping in my room" answered Herry "We've got tea bags right?"

"Yah…we should" said Atlanta sitting next to Archie "I think I sum this up for the rest of us; why?"

"Grannie needs her tea in the morning. Night"

"Night" Theresa said to him as she came into the lounge wearing sky blue pajamas with clouds printed in colours of white and purple "Hey guys, great idea. I've just checked with Hera and we can have tomorrow off if we train for an extra two ours the next day. What do you say we go down to the beach! A market will be on nearby as well as a surfing competition late in the afternoon"

"I'm game" said Jay

Neil was spreading moisturizer over his face "I can work on my tan"

"What tan?" commented Archie "don't kid us. We all know it's a rub on tan"

"IS NOT"

"You missed a spot" said Atlanta walking up to him

"Where?" Neil pulled out his pocket mirror

"There!" Atlanta clipped him on the chin "oldest trick in the book. So who else is coming? What about you Archie? You up for some water Volley ball?"

"I think I'll pass" Archie felt uneasy

"I'll come" Odie twisted the screwdriver tightening a bolt in a gadget the size of his palm "It'll be nice to get out for a change, into nice _open_ spaces"

Atlanta wasn't giving up on Archie "The salt water will do your back some good" he shook his head determinedly "Well at least come and watch. Built a sandcastle or something"

"I'll think about it" Archie gave in "Night"

"Night" the rest of the titans called

It was late. The violet haired teen tossed and turned in his bed, his legs becoming entangled in the sheets. Sweat ran from his forehead as his bad dream replayed and old unpleasant memory

"_Your very first time on the ice" said his mother proudly looking down at her five year old son. She held his hand as they started skating slowly on the frozen pond. There was no one else at the pond that day which was perfect for a first-timer. Nobody would get in his way or make him fall. Soon she was able to let go of his hand and watch her son skate by himself. Several times he fell over, but she thought he was doing remarkably well considering his weak ankle. He had a good balance and although was slightly shaky he was becoming a fast learner. "Well done my boy" she called "well done"_

_Archie beamed. He felt wonderful. He was gliding like a bird on the frozen water. He stopped and looked at the pattern he had carved in the ice with his skates_

"_Hey Archie!" called his two year older cousin Damien "come here! I'll race ya' to the other side!" _

"_Okay!" he skated over quickly and pulled to a sudden stop beside him, earning an impressed look from Damien _

_  
"On your maks…get set…GO!"_

_At once the pair began sprinting. Damien was in the lead and leaning forward. His stride was too large, slipped and fell hard on the ice_

'_I'm going to win!' thought five year old Archie with glee. He passes his older cousin and skated to the other side without stumbling. He turned around. He had not skated to this side of the pond before. His tracks were the first to be carved in the ice on this side of the pond. Beaming with pride he shouted to mum_

"_Did you see that? Did you see-" _

_It all happened in a second. The ice on the other side was not thick, and unstable. The heavy weight above it caused it to give way. Archie fell beneath the ice and into the bone cold murky water_

"_Archie!"_

_His mother couldn't approach him, for she would crash through the ice as well. All she could do was shout encouragement while she tried to find a way to get him out of there "Hold on my boy! Kick with your legs! Don't give up! Don't give up! Kick! Kick!" desperately she told Damien to stay there and watch him while she went to phone a service for help_

_After twenty five minutes of treading water and still waiting for help to arrive Archie couldn't feel any of his limbs. His heavy winter clothes made him feel heavy; several times his head went under the water. Archie was finding it more and more difficult to stay afloat. He was heavy, and tired…oh so tired…without thinking, his head slipped under the water one last time, and his vision became a hazy world of black. The last sound that echoed through his head was 'Don't give up'…_

Sixteen year old Archie sat up in bed gasping for air. Without meaning to he had been holding his breath in his sleep. Shaking his head he looked at the familiar red glow of his alarm clock. 6:55; groaning, he untangled himself from his sheets and went to have some breakfast, dreading today's seaside visit.


	4. skating on tin ice part2

"Now don't you get sun burnt Herry" said Grannie as she waved goodbye to the titans in the jeep "And swim where the life guard can see you"

"Awe…don't worry ickle Herrykins" said Archie standing up in the car, leaning forward and pinching Herry's cheek "we'll protect you"

Herry gripped the steering wheel leaving finger indents. It was taking everything he had not to turn around and give Achilles' descendent a good thumping, but his Grannie was there "Good bye Grannie! Take care"

"So Odie" began Jay watching him from in the reflection of the car mirror "How's the new PMRs?"

"Just finished them this morning Jay" said Odie with pride "now better then ever. They have everything like the old ones but this time they also have a clock, recording, water proof up to 25 feet and even a camera" He started handing them out. They were the same size as the old gadgets but with a new silver back

"Very swish" said Neil taking his, eyeing himself on the reflective back

"Same rules guys" said Jay shoving his into his pocket "Keep them with you"

"I can't wait!" said Theresa excitedly "I haven't been to the beach in ages!"

"Are you going to swim?" Atlanta asked Archie "Or are you gonna play with the toddlers on the sand?"

"I don't know 'lanta. I really haven't thought about it"

"You look tired"

"I didn't have a very good night sleep" Archie smiled at the pleasant thought of sleeping in the sun all morning…watching Atlanta in the water…

Theresa was talking to Herry "Are you going to go in the surfing comp?"

"Only if I don't break the board"

"Grab you towels guys" said Jay "we're here"

Herry parked the jeep. The moment engine stopped half the titans jumped out of the jeep and sprinted towards the golden sanded beach. Only Odie and Archie could contain their excitement

"Hey you have speed" Odie said to him grabbing his boogie board "I thought you'd be in the water by now" they began walking towards the beach, their feet squeaking in the sand

"Odie…You've got claustrophobia… um…" Archie wondered how to tell him this "Well, I kinda don't like the water. You understand?"

"Cool" he knew perfectly well what he meant

"Err…don't tell the others. Just say it's my back"

"Sure" they reached the spot where the other titans had thrown their gear. Archie spread out his towel and lay on his stomach while Odie stripped off his t-shirt and rand towards the waves with his orange boogie board under his arm

Archie's head was resting on his folded arms. He closed his eyes and let the sun warm his pale bandaged back and soon he had drifted off to sleep

"Why's Archie staying on the beach?" said Atlanta catching the ball and throwing it to Theresa

"Bad back" answered Odie, catching the ball from the strawberry blonde

Archie's face was screwed up in pain…the sound of crashing waves upon the shore and the smell of the sea brought back the rest of his nightmare

_His mother returned red in the face with tears streaming down her face. Damien cried out to her "He's gone under!"_

"_No!" she ran forward "Don't give up Archie! Don't give…" in her feverish haste to save her son, she slipped on the ice and fell, her head collided with the cold concrete like surface, her body slipped beneath the icy water._

_Archie was exhausted. He kicked fiercely and brought his head above the water once more "Don't give up…"he was only able to grab a single mouthful of air when his worn-out body dragged him down again. He couldn't feel his legs, and when he opened his eyes underwater all he could see was inky blackness. Archie's head ached, he was loosing hope. He struck out his hands and they brushed against something soft. Without knowing what it was he pushed the object up, hoping it would float. But it was large and heavy…his muscles gave in to weariness…and with his mother's words still in his head, his word became peaceful blackness_

_When he next woke up he was in hospital. His father was sitting on a chair beside him, his head resting on the white covered bed. He had bags under his eyes and looked very weary. It had been three days since the incident, Archie had nearly drowned. It had been Damien who had saved him. He had flagged down the first passing car and some strangers of the car tied a roped around their waste, dived in and pulled him out. They had been too late to save his mother. Later Damien told him that he saw Archie trying to pull his mother to the surface and it nearly killed him. _

_Archie did not need anyone to tell him whose fault it was. When the morning came of his mother's funeral, the looks he received from her relatives was enough; Anger, sadness, blame. If he hadn't have gone skating…hadn't asked his mother if he could learn…not let his pride be tarnished and not taken up the challenge to beat his cousin…she would still be there saying…_

"_Well done my boy. I'm so proud of you; you never gave up"_

_But he did_

Archie screamed when cold water splashed on his back, waking him up from his dream. He rubbed the salt water and tears from his eyes

Atlanta was holding an empty bucket laughing "You scream like a girl Archie"

The wet violet haired teen was still recovering from his dream. He had dreamed more that time.

Atlanta was in the water with the rest of the titans pardon one; Archie. He had been sitting on the beach all day. Twice she had got up to try and get him to come into the water, but he had refused. She had even thrown a bucket of water over him.

"Just leave him be Atlanta", said Odie "If he doesn't want to come in then just leave him"

"But it's a complete waste of a day!" she argued "He should be more"-

"**SHARK!"** someone screamed. Immediately the beach became a stampede of people rushing out of the water. The life guards spoke over the speakers "Everybody calm down and leave the water in an orderly fashion…" they may as well been singing 'Tom Jones; what's new pussy cat?' no body paid any attention

"Come on titans" shouted Jay back to the beach

"But the ball…" began Neil, looking back at the striped beach ball silently floating away out to sea

"Unless you like your face the way it is" said Atlanta dragging him out by the arm "I suggest you move"

"**SHARK!" **the person screamed again. On the shore Theresa turned and searched the waves for a fin. What she saw was not a fin…but rather like a shark with no fin rising out of the water and diving in again…it was scaly and black, its belly was red as a rose

"Jay…" she began, pointing to the creature

"What's happening?" said Archie running up to them

"Are you deaf or what?" said Herry "It's a shark!"

"That's no shark Herry" said Theresa "It's a"-

An enormous scaly head broke the surface of the sea water. It had large green eyes and when it opened its mouth white sharp teeth and two long matching fangs at the nose. It had a long scaly body with spikes running down its spine to the tip of the tail

"-Sea Serpent" finished Theresa

"Oh yeah, it really looks like a shark to me" said Archie sarcastically "I think I'll call him Flipper"

At the sight of a giant black snake with big teeth and spines, the whole beach cleared. Neil on the other hand fainted, landing with a soft thump on the sand

"Oh yeah" said Odie "Nerves of steal that one"

"Any idea on how to defeat it Odie?" asked Jay, taking his sword from out of his beach bag. The others grabbed their weapons from under their towels

"It's got the upper hand" he said "We're in his element; water. He can come on land to- it's a snake after all…lasers might cut through it though. Anything that can get through his scales"

The sea serpent reared up, drawing itself up to its full height as it slithered onto the sandy beach. Jay ran forward with his sword in hand. He sliced the Serpent's red belly. The snake swung his tail around with a lightning force, whacked him in the chest and flew him down onto the sand. It then came at him with its mouth ajar, about to bite into the leader

"Hiya!" Archie cried, advancing on 'Flipper'. His flicked his whip at the snake, it tied around the creature's head, locking the jaw and he pulled, bringing its attention away from Jay. But it was strong. When Archie pulled it did nothing, instead it swung its head bringing the titan up into the air and through him towards the water. His weapon slipped from his hands and he crashed into the salty water, his whip still wrapped around 'Flipper's mouth, preventing him from biting

"I see why you're called 'Flipper'" said Herry cracking his knuckles

Archie was in the water. The salt stung his eyes as he fought his way to the surface for air, his head came above the waves and he filled his lungs with oxygen. Suddenly he felt the water drawing back behind him; he turned to see a large wave crash into him, dragging him under and tossing, turning him over with incredible force underneath the water. His head collided with an underwater rock. He felt a sharp pain… then everything went black

"Archie!" cried Atlanta. She had not seen him come to the surface as she stood on the beach. Her sharp eye sight caught a small flash of violet. Without hesitation she ran into the water and dived. Her speed came in handy and she reached the spot where she thought she had seen him in no time. She treaded water on the spot and looked around "Archie!"

She dived under the water and opened her eyes. It took her a few seconds to get use to the stinging. To her right she saw a dark shape in the water. She struck her hands out and swam to it… 'seaweed?' she thought '…no- Archie!' she put her arm under the limp form and dragged him to the surface. Trying her best to keep his head above the rough salty water she towed him to shore

Herry went around the Serpent and grabbed his tail "Look out guys" he held it up and started to swing the snake round and around. Using all of his strength he brought Flipper down as hard as he could onto the sand. Theresa ran up and kicked it square in the nose. It retreated to its home in the ocean and went under the waves with difficulty. After being swung around it felt drunk and dizzy.

"Is…it all over?" said Neil sitting up, rubbing the sand out of his hair

"Yeah, we did what you did and played 'possum'. We would have never defeated it otherwise" said Herry

"Man, that's going to leave a mark in the morning" Said Jay rubbing his back "Where's Archie? And Atlanta?"

"Bit of help over here guys" said Atlanta coming out from the sea with an unconscious Archie in her arms "You could have thrown that thing after we were out"

"Is he alright?" asked Jay as Theresa and Odie bent down and checked his pulse. He was still breathing and had a deep nasty cut on his temple.

"Water logged" replied Odie "swallowed a fair bit of water, but he should be okay thanks to Atlanta. Come on, let's get him back to the dormitory. I don't want to look at the sea again for a very long time"

At that moment, Archie coughed up water and sat up "I feel like I'm gonna puke"

"Let's leave the beach and get him to Chiron"

"But…" protested Neil looking out at the sea and spying a red dot on the horizon "what about my stripy beach ball?"


	5. catching ghosts

"Ghosts are attracted to this?" said Odie doubtfully, looking at a gold candle closely

"But of coarse" said Hera wisely looking at all of the titans "they are attracted to the light, and have been ever since they passed into spirit. It calls them, as it did to death"

Theresa shivered

Hera held up a candle close to her lips and blew gently on the wick. It lit into a pearly white flame

"I didn't know you could do that!" said Herry; impressed "but….err…shouldn't the flame be yellow?"

"It is a white light that attracts them" as Hera spoke a pale see-through figure glided through the wall of the school. The ghost's arms were outstretched; their eyes were wide and their hands groping for the small light. Neil screamed and his hands jumped to his mouth. Hera did not flinch as the spirit came closer. The spirit's hand reached out to try and seize the flame and take it for its own, but the moment its pale fingers made contact it shrunk into a tiny ball of light and joined the flame, making it a little bit larger.

"Where did it go?" asked Atlanta leaning forward with curiosity to get a better look of the gold candle

"It is trapped inside. When the candle had burnt down to the last of the wick there will be a small silver ball. All the souls that have been caught will be trapped inside" the queen of the gods explained "You are then to come back to the school and hand them over where they will go back to the underworld and start their next life"

"Okay" said jay taking a bunch of candles and handing them out "Where do we go?"

Odie answered him "Places where dead people would go…graveyards, churches, hospitals…"

Hera nodded in agreement "also public places like the park or the beach"

"Okay" said jay taking a bunch of candles and handing them out "we'll split up. Herry, Archie and Atlanta go to the park and graveyards, Neil, Odie, Theresa and I will check out the others"

Herry cupped his hands behind his head and leaned back into the comfort of a deck chair in a stone graveyard. Beside him sat Archie and Atlanta who had a clip board keeping a tally. In front of each titan on a fold out chair were their candles

"You've got no chance Archie" said Herry "My candles the brightest. I'm gonna have way more"

"Guess again Hercules" said Archie as he watched yet another spirit come close to the table with their hands outstretched and disappear as it's pale figure touched the flame "Looks like I am doing the best"

Atlanta snorted "You guys aren't doing anything"

"The trick is to just let the candles do the work" said Herry; stretching "We don't have to do…anything" his last word was shaky as a spirit floated through him. He felt like he was sitting in the deep freeze section of the supermarket.

"Hmm…oh well" said Atlanta holding up the clip board "Looks like I'm going to win that pizza we bet on. My candle has had more spirits then both of your's put together"

"Let me see that" Archie snatched the clipboard

In the center of an old church Theresa looked closely at the pearly white flame. She held up her hand quickly flicked her finger through the flame. Instead of it being hot, it was cool. Almost icy, she turned to Odie

"How are we meant to catch several thousand with this? Surely we need to attract more attention"

"The Gods have caught some already caught some" answered Odie "I don't know if any of you saw the gum when we left but the whole floor was burning with a pallid fire. Who knows how many a candle will attract, but with a whole floor burning? I think we're only to pick up the spares" another soul was sucked into his candle

Neil was curled up into a ball sitting in the corner shaking and muttering to himself "There's no such things as ghosts, there's no such things as ghosts…Agh!" he screamed and buried his face in his arms as a spirit soared from up in the roof and dived down to a few feet in front of him. The ghost was tall, had a weather beaten face and white hair

"Pull yourself together!"

Neil looked up "wha?"

"You're not going to destroy Cronos any time soon unless you stop blubbering! Pull yourself together! Stand up straight!" commanded the spirit wit authority

"Grandpa?" Neil choked out

"No, a ham-sandwich; of coarse it's me!"

"Grandpa!" Neil jumped up and gave his old dead relative an air hug

At the sound of Neil's shout in delight the other titans turned around. Jay almost laughed out loud at the sight of the terrified now very happy Neil with his arms around a ghost

"Aunty Iris?" asked Theresa unsure as she saw a familiar pale figure glide through a wall. She had long white (was red) hair and identical eyes to her niece

"Hello dear"

"It's wonderful to see you again but",-

"I've watched you for most of your life. You have a strange gift! Who'd have thought you were a descendent of…" rambled the woman

"-but Aunty you have to go back! If you don't then your soul will be too damaged to go on into the next life"

"I know my dear, I know. Please, stay safe. I don't want to see you where I am until you are old"

"I will Aunty" promise Theresa as the ghost kissed her on the cheek and went into her candle

"Goodbye"


	6. meeting old friends and family

Odie shivered as another spirit faded into his candle. He felt strange with the knowledge he knew what was going to happen when he died. He looked over at Theresa who was saying her last goodbyes to her aunty. A tear was rolling down her cheek

The smart titan looked down at his candle. As one last spirit came into the flame it the wax melted away into a silver ball. Theresa's candle had gone into a ball too, and with one last playful punch from Neil's old grandpa his also became a ball.

"Okay team, time we wrapped this up" said Jay pulling out his PMR "Hey Atlanta? We're heading back to the school…what are you doing?"

"Oh, er…" her voice sounded over the PMR "We'll meat you over there"

"Guys we finish this. It ends…Now!" Atlanta blue out the candles and looked at the score board

"Who came first?" asked Herry

"Bet it was me" said Archie

"Actually Archie, you came last"

"HA!"

"I won"

"Show me that board"

"If you don't believe me then look at your candles. Archie's still has a fair way to burn, Herry's got a slither left and I've got a silver ball" said Atlanta smugly

"The pizza is mine! Yahoo!" Atlanta jumped up and punched the air. Suddenly the air became cold and quiet. Shivers went down the titan's backs. Archie and Herry picked up their candles and lit it again.

"I don't think all the spirits are gone yet" said Archie

"Well of coarse not. I'm not going to go back to the underworld without seeing my wife and grandson for one last time" a tall brawny ghost with thick coke bottle glasses and a hairless head came into view

"Gamps?" said Herry confused

"Come here! Look at you; chip off the old block" Herry ran up to give Gramps a hug. Trouble was, he ran straight through him "so when are you going to introduce me to your friends?" said the old timer

"Oh yeah" Herry and gramps walked back towards Archie and Atlanta "Gramps, this is Archie and Atlanta. Archie, Atlanta, this is Gramps"

"Please to meet you both" he tried to shake hands with them but again his pale hand went straight through theirs "I keep forgetting about that. Now, can I speak with you alone for a moment?"

"Err, sure" Herry walked while Gramps floated over to a near by tree. Archie blew out his candle and he and Atlanta sat down on the deck chairs

"Now, lets get down to business" Gramps floated down to his grandson's eye level "I saw Grannie earlier. She beat me with a broom and told me to get out. It took five minutes for me to convince her who I really was" Herry laughed "I'm glad to see you're taking care of her, and for that I am proud of you, but" Herry swallowed "but you must remember, if anything does happen it is not your fault. You can't help being who you are"

Herry knew he was talking about the time grannie got kidnapped by Cronos and was going to be sacrificed to an eagle with a bowl of green fire. Gramps continued "Remember; you are a titan! And from your grannie's side of the family too, you have the power to do so much good to the world. But for now, I must be off. I want to start a new life somewhere…maybe Hawaii. I'l have to wait for Grannie though"

"Bye Gramps. Take care"

"Bye…Herry-pooh. Oh, and by the way, this makes you tie with Atlanta" and with that he held out his old hand and touched the candle flame and disappeared into a ball of light and joined the candle. The flame went out and a silver ball was all that was left in the titan's hand

"Yeah…bye gramps"

"Is he gone? Said Atlanta gently as he rejoined the group

"Yeah, come on lets get back to the school. Oh, and Archie" he held up a silver ball "You owe Atlanta and I a pizza"

Growling, Archie folded up a deck chair and headed out of the graveyard towards the truck

Hera looked at the heroes with pride "Well done. All up you've probably caught a thousand souls. However I do need them in ball form, so for the three of you who still have a candles you will need to catch some more"

"How many more are there to collect?" asked Jay

"The gym caught about six thousand" said Ares "Oh, almost forgot. Archie here's your new whip. Even tougher then the last, providing you don't loose it" the last five words had a hint of annoyance as the violet haired teen came forwards and collected his weapon.

"There are some spirits we did not catch" said Hera smiling "a few of them have some unfinished business" behind her three ghosts floated forward. Atlanta, Jay and Odie gave a cry of delight and rushed forward

"Bruce!"

"Timer!"

"Sister!"

Jay looked at his great great grandfather. He still was missing an eye and he had to keep propping up his head with his hands to stop it from rolling off his shoulders "Ah, you're a born leader. You take straight after me, just like when I lead the soldiers in Vietnam"

"Yeah, Timer"

His great great grandfather scorned "Now don't you start calling me that again. Yes, I know I use to have perfect time in the marching, band and now 'old timer'. But you still must show respect"

"Yes sir!" Jay saluted him

"Hey Bruce!" Odie ran up to give his old dog a hug, but like Herry before him his arms went straight through him

"Awe, you call that a hug? Could you scratch me behind the ears like you use to?" said the pale mutt

Odie nearly did a cartwheel "Whoa! You can talk!"

"It is the afterlife…"

"Sorry boy. Looks like you're going to have to ask Hades for that scratch" Bruce jumped up and started to lick his old masters face. Laughing, Odie gave him an air hug back.

Atlanta faced her older sister with pride. Angela put a slender pale hand on her shoulder "Who'd have thought I am the sister and descendent of Artimes. I'm sorry you have to save the world. I wish you never had to go through all the pain"

"Oh really?" said Atlanta with a grin "Bet you did. You loved action movies when we were little kids"

"Beats Horror"

"Never in a million years"

"So?" Angela smirked "I know who has a crush on you"

"So…Got any dead relies Archie?" Herry cracked his knuckles as they watched three of the titans and their happy reunion

"What? Err..." Archie shifted nervously

"Look at Odie" said Theresa "I never knew he had a dog. I bet he is quite attached to him"

Neil was combing his hair "God I am starving. What's for dinner?"


	7. one final goodbye

That night, Archie sat with the other titans in the lounge of the Dorm watching a movie. He was paying no attention to the bloodthirsty werewolves attack a married couple, but was once again thinking about today's events. Theresa had met her auntie, Herry his grandpa, and Atlanta her sister; but, what about his mother? Surely she would come and see him before she left. Hera had collected all of the stray souls and everything was back as it should. But a pang of pain that his mother had already started a new life or had forgotten him didn't go away

Jay stifled a yawn "Gee it's getting late. Five more minutes guys"

"Not me" said Archie getting up "I'm feeling absolutely buggered. Night"

"Say Archie" said Atlanta getting up "How's you grandpa?"

"Excuse me?"

"Grandma…weren't you listening?"

"To what?" he said confused

"Relative visiting you from the underworld?" seeing the violet haired teen's confused expression Atlanta gave up "Night". She saw him walk down the hall and an idea came to her. She whispered to the others "I've got the best idea for a prank!"

Eagerly the other titans leaned forward and heard her plan, then tiptoed down the hall towards Archie's room

Archie walked down the hall towards his messy room. Along the way, he couldn't help but notice how tidy Herry's room was 'Grannie must have cleaned it before she moved back into her old house yesterday' he thought

He opened his bedroom door and stepped inside. Slipping off his sandals he collapsed on the bed with a sigh

"Good evening my boy" said a warm familiar voice he had long not heard

"Wha?" he sat up "Who's there?"

Outside the room Atlanta was about to do a ghost impersonation with the rest of the team behind her, when she heard voices coming from Archie's room. Theresa signaled everyone to be quiet as they listened

Inside, a ghost about the same height as Archie with soft white hair and kind eyes came into view. Shocked, the titan could only choke out one word

"Mum" he jumped up and flew his arms around his long dead mother, only to find his limbs went straight through

"You thought I had forgotten about you hmm?" she held his arms in a half hug

Archie had many questions streaming through his mind. Tears welled up in his eyes "I've missed you so much"

"I know, I know" she patted him on the back and they sat down on the bed

"Do you know about dad?"

"I do. I know you may think that this new woman is bad news, and she probably is. But what you have to think about is this; you father is happy again and he has not been in a very long time. Second, you do not have to call her mother and whether you decide to go to the wedding is up to you"

Archie sighed "Yeah but…it's hard"

"You'll face the challenge sooner or later. You can't run from it. But you can learn from it" tears streamed down the titan's face. He was overjoyed at seeing hi9s mother again in the first time for years, but with it came an old guilt he had not yet let go of

"I'm sorry mum"

"What for?"

"It's my fault you're…if I hadn't skated down that side of the pond…"

"What happened that day is and was no body's fault. It was my own. I was not careful; do not blame yourself for my mistake"

Archie nodded

"I must go now love. Unless I want to have another shot at life, I'd better skedaddle"

"But…"

"Since I have departed I have never left my eyes off you. I have watched you grow up and been beside you whenever you were lost, hurt or afraid. And I will keep watching you until you feel you can take care of yourself and I am satisfied. I love you, goodbye my boy"

"Goodbye mum…wait…don't you need a candle or…?"

"What? Heavens no! I'm not like those other half witted ghosts who need someone to take them back home! I know where I'm going" and with one finial kiss on the cheek she faded into the light

Archie let out a breath and lay down on the bed. He heard a squeak and a giggle form out side the door. Suddenly, his mother reappeared again

"You have good friends, but they've been outside the door listening all this time; so farewell my boy. Now, I'm going to meet your friends" and with that she floated through the door before Archie could say another word

"Who is he talking to?" whispered Neil

"I don't know…kinda sounds like a girl

"Whoohoo Archie!" cheered Herry

A ghost screamed and floated through the door, taking the team by surprise. They all screamed in fright at the top of their lungs and ran down the hall, tripping over their own feet and pushing each other trying to get as far away from that 'thing' as quickly as possible. Archie laughed and opened the door.

"See ya mum"

After five minutes of trying to catch their breath and take in what they saw, Odie spoke first

"What was that thing?"

"I don't know" said Neil "who does"

"My mum" Archie said standing in the doorway

"Your mum!" said Herry, surprised "oh she's cool. I like her…but, god, er…how old were you"

Archie shrugged "five…maybe six" there was an uncomfortable quiet pause

"Well I think it's about time we were all heading off to bed" said Jay making for the door. The others immediately nodded and followed, pardon Atlanta who slipped a crisp white envelope into Archie's hand

"This came in the mail for you today. I only remembered it now. Night Archie"

Achilles' descendent could have sworn he saw a slight blush in Atlanta's cheeks. Smiling to himself he took the letter and headed into his room once more. There he slid into bed and tore open the letter

"Dear Son

In the past month, Gloria has not been ill. We were closely considering canceling the wedding but after viewing the doctor's results we are pleased to inform you that you are soon to become the new older brother of a little sister or brother. Due to the event we shall be moving close to where you are living, little more then an hour's drive…….

Archie stared at the letter in outmost shock "….older brother….. We shall be moving…."

To be continued…..

Well, did you like that? Hate it? Please review or rate!-good

What would you like to hear more of in the sequel? More Jay x Theresa?

Archie x Atlanta? Action?

Let me know!


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